Indigopirate, by now a seasoned fly on the wall, buzzed last night's phone meeting of the PNB Finance Committee. It included yet another attempt to unravel the pile of conflicting figures created by WBAI GM figurehead Berthold Reimers and an elf or two. This time, he tuned in and made his entrance on tippy toe whilst juggling into a blur every number you ever heard of.
Understanding those numbers was another matter, as Finance Committe Chair Brian Edwards-Tiegert put it, "WBAI presents some profound structural concerns that may be beyond the reach of budgeting." —CA
The Long Unwinding Road, or:
Nothing New Under the WBAI/Pacifica Sun
(Except the Pressing Need for A Long Vacation)
WBAI, like the rest of Pacifica, has been unable to construct a credible budget for Fiscal Year 2016, nor will it (or the rest of Pacifica) be able to construct a credible FY 2016 budget before – at the very earliest – 19 January 2016.
Its situation is still untenable in the extreme.
As is that of Pacifica as a whole.
The Pacifica National Board’s National Finance Committee has concluded therefore, that, given their hard work and accomplishments to date, they deserve and require A Long Vacation from their labors – all pending matters will be suspended as that vital need is first satisfied.
A matter of priorities….
~ ‘indigopirate’
Hear here, as it were.
I guess Reimers answered my Tony Bates being the California man. He may be back. Is that a threat or a promise?
ReplyDeleteReimers said the cost of the Null event was the rent. So much for katz getting the space for free. Maybe she got it for a gate split or something, but not for free.
Making more profit by more premiums being downloads. Non downloadable premiums are sold at a profit, too, and an added postage charge. The real difference is that maybe downloadable premiums have a better chance of getting into the hands of pledgers, if WBAI doesn't have their hands in the process of delivery. Still, this all sounds like a swerve to ignore the WBAI premiums problem.
So, WBAI does, in fact, buy premiums via Amazon. I bet they pay retail, too.
I like how Reimers talks of newer $3 and $4 premiums being sold for $100 or more. Talk about a capitalistic mark-up. Talk about fucking over the listeners.
SDL
Reimers and his cohorts are crooks, plain and simple. If they really wanted to raise money honestly, they would point out that the merchandise can be had at a lower cost elsewhere and explain why paying more is a good thing to do.
Delete"If you pay $100 extra for this DVD, you are helping to keep Ifé play that crap, Haskins revive slavery, Daniels get reparations, Kathy create ersatz spirituality, and all the new Uncle Toms foment racism for the whole family...."
Reimers always liked Bates, they are birds of a feather.
I expect premiums on any public/non-commercial radio or TV station to be marked up. However, thirty or forty times the cost? That's just gouging. Add that the board members on this audio don't really seem to care, shows us that they all behave like the very powers they criticize - corporate America.
DeleteExit credibility!
SDL
Whether they are Boeing crooked or irresponsible, the resultat is the same: the listener-sponsor is screwed.
DeleteIts a classic bureaucratic move. Wait until the last minute to send information so no one has time to review it. $80,000 in banking fees when the other stations are paying around $13,000? The GM's budget projections seem unrealistic. Where is he getting these numbers?
ReplyDeleteHe just seems unprepared to deal with even basic questions about his own budget from a group giving him the benefit of the doubt. Good luck Mr. New CFO. You'll need it.
Where is Reimers getting his favorable totals? Methinks he cooks them up.
Delete(JustA Listener)
ReplyDeleteSo finally the long anticipated sequel to the long running fiction series has been released.
Yes, Star Wars, but I'm talking about the other fiction, the WBAI budget.
Lots of mystery and magic there too.
My favorite part was Reimers announcing his "disclaimer" - that he liked last year's budget better, this year he didn't like the formulas. Maybe he meant that this year 1+1=2 not 1+1=3.
I congratulate the committee members for remaining calm, it seemed to me that Edwards-Tiegert and RPM were on the edge of letting Reimers have it.
But somehow they retained a sense of humor and commented "it will be better when the new CFO gets in". A CFO like Salvador?
I don't blame them for taking time off. Unlike Reimers they aren't getting paid to do this.
A fascinating saga, indeed, but it has an ever so stretched unhappy ending. Having cured AIDS, perhaps Null ought to tale a stab at WBAI. A stab sans his elite army of attorneys. :)
DeleteI don't know if null could "cure" bai .
ReplyDeleteThey seem determined to commit suicide .
Tuning around the AM/FM dial during dinner (5PM-6PM roughly), I found the various "talk" stations discussing the presidential election and other news items. I found WBAI selling a meditation premium from a man whose claims of accomplishments may well rival Gary Null's. I'm eating a chocolate doughnut and drinking a black coffee...
ReplyDeleteOh, now it's Katie "I hate blue eyes" Halper. She truly fits the right wing stereotype of the self-hating Jew leftist, as does Mimi. Time to tune away...
SDL
You should also be seeing red. As for Katie H. and Mimi R., they might eventually follow Null's advice and start jewsing.
DeleteThe meditation guy is indeed flying neck to neck with the big Null when it comes to namedropping and claims of super success. One has to wonder why they don't just grab a Bic and write a hefty cheque to WBAI. Null, of course has chosen the bribe method. At least that's what he says, but he has not revealed the deadline date he alleges to have given Pacifica. I think they are both full of it.
I think Null may be in early stages of dementia, frankly. His temper fits, threats, and general erratic nature fit the bill. He's not going to expose anything about WBAI because he doesn't have anything damaging and concrete. It all started as a game, but Null is so erratic now that he may not even remember its purpose. I still bet there was a Hufnagel (spelling?) connection.
DeleteSDL
Erratic describes him well, but it also fits a number of other hosts... the station itself. I think rudderless may be the word. I think you are right about Null being all hot air. His show at the New School was apparently successful, but I don't for a minute believe that they had to turn away about a thousand people, which is what he said today. He also expressed his surprise over Reimers showing up with his family, so there's another u-turn being made.
DeleteKathy is on right now, hawking her own collection of crap (she calls it her "creation") at $150. She now has her own "Healing Center" in Bayridge, where she teaches classes and puts people into "a transformative state." She is either demented or shrewd, perhaps both, but she is the antithesis of what Pacifica stations were created for.
Yes, I think it was Hufnagel and she is from the same mold.
Null is always the best bet for money. I won't deny that. If he had 400+ people at the New School, as stated, he should be able to do two more shindigs to cover that one thousand that couldn't gain entry. We'll see if it happens. I think that would tell you something.
DeleteDavis "transformative state" is probably feeding people massive amounts of cake for a sugar high. She is demented, without doubt. I guess she is shrewd enough to parlay her airtime into publicity to gain customers. Remember that there are others as "out there" as she is.
The reason I keep thinking Hufnagel has something to do with Null is that his tirades are exactly the same thing she was saying on Nalini's list a few months back - exactly! Her claims were heavy on the sexual molestation, as are Null's claims. The numbers bandied are even similar, as are claims of affidavits. It's all too similar.
SDL
Has anyone ever seen them both, simultaneously? :)
DeleteOh, no... The conspiracy mindset has gotten to you, too! No more Zeitgeist DVDs for you.
DeleteGoogled a bit and see "Dr" Vikki Hufnagel has had an association with Null. Seems she has put aside her public war with Pacifica in favor of making claims about Bill Cosby. Getting her name into The National Enquirer must garner more publicity than posting on Nalini's list.
SDL
Hufnagel and Cosby! I love it and it males sense.
DeleteMaybe Gary wants to expose the WBAI competing quacks, frauds and con artists.
ReplyDelete